Kicking It chronicles the lives of seven players taking a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent their country at the Cape Town 2006 Homeless World Cup. Najib from war torn Afghanistan; Alex from the slums of Kenya; Damien and Simon from the drug rehab clinics of Dublin, Ireland; Craig from the streets of Charlotte, North Carolina; Jesus from the overflowing public shelters of Madrid, Spain,

Using the global appeal of soccer to address the pandemic of homelessness, the Homeless World Cup was first established in 2001 to give homeless people the opportunity to better
their lives through sports. Five years later, 20,000 homeless
people had competed on street soccer teams, with 500 players
selected to represent 48 countries in the fourth annual Homeless World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa, in the summer of 2006.
Susan Koch’s Kicking It profiles seven of these players—men
made invisible by poverty and addiction but who now emerge as compelling figures fighting to become heroes on the
soccer pitch and find a way out of their situations.
Ultimately uplifting, though tempered by the sobering reality
of its subjects’ vulnerable lives, Kicking It captures their humanity
and ability to overcome adversity—all through the simple
game of soccer.